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About Shared Links and Secure Shared Files

You can share your files with others using the shared link feature. You can also add levels of security by restricting access to the shared link and adding protection to the file which remains with the file after recipients download it.

Shared Links

A shared link is a URL that users can click to open the location of the file in a web browser.

You can create a public shared link, which is accessible to anyone who has the URL, or you can create a secured shared link where you can restrict who accesses the file. With a secured shared link, you can track who downloaded your files and when.

Shared links are kept up-to-date, so if your file changes later, people who download the file via the shared link will get the latest version.

The ability to create secured shared links is not available to Syncplicity Public Edition users.

Secure Shared Files

In addition to creating a secured shared link, your administrator can set a policy that allows you to secure your shared PDF or Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, or Excel) file. The Syncplicity Secure Shared File feature allows you to protect your file after it is downloaded. This feature is available to Enterprise Edition users only.

To protect a file, select the Editor or Reader role when creating the secured shared link. Your administrator decides which permissions are granted with each role. The permissions are shown when you select the role, and could include:

Location Access: Countries where access is restricted.

View: All authorized recipients are granted this permission by default.

Edit: Allow or deny modifying and saving the file content.

Print: Allow or deny permission to print a document.

Copy: Allow or deny permission to copy content from the file.

Watermark: If enabled, all protected files display the watermark when printed. For PDF documents only, the watermark is also visible when viewed on a monitor. The watermark consists of the user’s name, IP address, and a “Protected file” label.

Allow screen capture: When recipients view a protected document, the Syncplicity client disables the use of operating system screen capturing tools and some common 3rd party screen grabbing tools. This feature also prevents protected content from being viewed over teleconferencing tools. When this permission is granted, the recipients have the ability to temporarily turn off this feature and allow screen capture.

Allow offline access: When checked, recipients have the ability to access protected content when offline (for example, they are traveling or out of the office). This permission can be granted for a specific number of days.

Allow browser viewing: If enabled, users can view secure shared files in their web browser before downloading the file.

Windows desktop users can download secured shared files to view and, with permission, edit the file; however, the users must install the Syncplicity Plug-in for Microsoft Office and Syncplicity Plug-in for PDF, as described in the Syncplicity Secured Shared File article. Windows users can send secure shared files using secured shared links.

Mac desktop users can view secured shared files on the My Syncplicity shared link download page, if the feature is enabled by the administrator.

iPad users can view and, with permission, edit secure shared files by opening them in the Syncplicity app. The Syncplicity app on the iPad does not support sending secure shared files.

When unauthorized recipients attempt to open the secure shared file, they are denied access but are given the option to email the file’s owner to ask for permission. The recipients do not see the owner’s email address or name.

When authorized recipients open the secure shared file, they can view the permissions granted to them. Authorized users also have the option to contact the file’s owner to request additional permission, such as a recipient asking to move them from the Reader role to the Editor role or to open the file in a specific geographical location.

Recipients, even with the Editor role, cannot unprotect the file. The protection remains in place regardless, even if they download the protected file then upload it to a different Syncplicity folder.